Epilogue vs. Orion

[wwallinga]

Epilogue is constantly being lauded in here, but I find it a bit boring and perhaps out of place on MAYH. So, just because I'm curious, bored and maybe a bit stupid, I'm wondering...

Epilogue vs. Orion?

Even though Metallica is the epitome of what a metal band should not try to become, I still respect most of their earlier work. My vote is for Orion - flame me if you must!

 

[Shadows Skulk]

The worst Opeth song is better than 95% of Metallica

 

[wwallinga]

I completely agree - which is why I thought this poll might be intriguing.

 

[coolsnow7]

What are you joking? Orion isn't repetitive? And it does not crush, hmm, any metal instrumental out there. Frayed Ends of Sanity was much better, and that was them. I don't think Epilogue was much more than an afterthought really, more there for the purposes of having something called "Epilogue." I think You would have been better off with maybe "Ending Credits."

 

[wwallinga]

1. Frayed Ends of Sanity is not an instrumental. To Live is To Die follows it on Justice, and it is, for all intensive purposes, an instumental. But, it is not as good as Orion.

2. I agree with your assessment of Epilogue (that it feels like an afterthought). The reason I chose it is because I have seen so many people post their undying love for it on this board.

Orion is up 5-3. A lot closer than I thought it would be, but there's still a lot of time to go...

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Orion is fucking awesome, how can you guys vote for Epilogue over it? Jebus...I mean Epilogue is cool, but it sucks balls out of context of the album. I never really put on just Epilogue, and listen to it, it's at it's best right after Karma, the resolution of the album. Orion is just a classic!!!

And LMAO at the guy who said "Frayed Ends" was an instrumental...just that title itself doesn't recall the actual music, but I can right away hear Hetfield's voice screaming "Frayed ends of sanity!" and I know right off the bat it's not an instrumental.

 

[Dreadful]

Orion...by miles...I'm sure Akerfeldt would even agree.

 

[trickpony1616]

epilogue was not meant to break metal barriers, it was to end an album.. you're trying to compare two songs that were made with different purposes.

opeth > metallica

period

 

[MasterOLightning]

Orion. Without a doubt it's the better song. I think Epilogue is very good. But Orion was an ambitious song. The soloing is on par, if not better than on the Opeth song. Epilogue is almost the same as The Wanderer by Emperor. Orion was a pretty original composition.

 

[Mantraschism]

This is one of the worst fucking comparisons I've ever seen. Good God.... I mean....

Epilogue - Just over 4 minutes long. Not a metal instrumental. Brings a concept album to a close, feeding from and tying together the collective emotions of the album in a simplistic fashion.
Orion - About 8 and a half minutes long, a metal instrumental. Falls well in the flow of the album, but is a complete song in and of itself, with no real ties to the songs before nor after it, save in overall sound.

These two songs are not similar at all, and they serve totally different purposes. *sigh* I can't believe I even have to say all this.

Alright, next comparison. What is the better instrumental, PROLOGUE or THE CALL OF KTULU!!111!11!??

 

[Scourge of Malice]

uhhh these songs arent similiar in the least bit... i'd compare epilogue more to something off dark side of the moon....

Orion kills it anyways though. Orion is amazing.

 

[FUBAR]

Onion

 

[Lord_AgathoN]

I want so see you guys compare something from opeth with "Put them on the glass...."

 

[Ermz]

Never been a fan of Metallica, and especially never understood what's meant to be so special about Orion. To me, it's a subpar, wandering riff-fest with no notable goal. Just one riff after the other and a really bad bass interlude that just about every bassist has bored me to death with. You think it can't get worse, then Kirk shows you that he really can't write a good solo worth a shit - got irritating bends? In the entirety of the song, there is really only one riff that impressed me, and that was at Bar 57 where hearing the bass do lead was something interesting and different for me.

Whilst it is a bad comparison, to me Epilogue is miles ahead. The song has one backing track and a 4-odd minute improvised solo, yet it oozes so much more feel to me than Orion ever could.

 

[wwallinga]

Great comments from all - thanks for your input!

Yes, I know the songs are very different in terms of their time length and "reasons for being on an album" (which, by the way, it seems a bit pretentious for us non band-members to be assuming). Once again, I chose Epilogue because I always see people claiming that they love it whenever we have a "Favorite Song Poll". So I thought I would pit it against the best Metallica solo (even if it might be apples/oranges).

I do think that many of the people who are voting for Epilogue are really just voting against Metallica on principle. Can't hardly blame you!

Maybe a better question would be: which album would you rather hear played live from start to finish. IMO MAYH would win by a landslide. So, maybe Epilogue is seen as a week song because it is a simple song on a complex album. Orion is unique, but the general composition is not overwhelmingly different from MOP.

Anyway - a bit of rambling... The vote is 11-10 for Epilogue. I will be very interested to see where this ends up!

 

[Seth'Peth]

Had to go with "Orion". That still hasn't been surpassed for me in the "classic metal instrumental" category. Of course "Epilogue" is a little too different to compare(and not classic either), but I appreciate the reasoning behind the poll. And hey, it gets the wheels turning in our heads and on the board.

Seth

 

[AbsentFriend]

Never been a fan of Metallica, and especially never understood what's meant to be so special about Orion. To me, it's a subpar, wandering riff-fest with no notable goal. Just one riff after the other and a really bad bass interlude that just about every bassist has bored me to death with. You think it can't get worse, then Kirk shows you that he really can't write a good solo worth a shit - got irritating bends? In the entirety of the song, there is really only one riff that impressed me, and that was at Bar 57 where hearing the bass do lead was something interesting and different for me.

Whilst it is a bad comparison, to me Epilogue is miles ahead. The song has one backing track and a 4-odd minute improvised solo, yet it oozes so much more feel to me than Orion ever could.

Hmm in my opinion you couldn't be more wrong. Orion is THE instrumental metal classic! Pure emotion.

And a simple riff doesn't have to be boring. Only if you are completely not interested in the music or just hate Metallica because they ''sold out", also a very original opinion.

Bar 57? You apparently know this song by heart, You even know every bar and it's number???

Orion wins.

 

[Ermz]

No, I was actually checking out a tab of Orion I have just to make sure I wasn't off-base about its instrumentation - I wasn't.

Yes, I am 'completely not interested' but it isn't because they 'sold out'. I hate Metallica because, to me, they 'suck'. It has nothing to do with selling out, because I've never liked them in the first place.

 

[wwallinga]

If it makes anyone happier, I was mostly comparing the second half of Orion with Epilogue. That makes them a bit more similar.

 

[Crimson Velvet]

Epilogue, nice as it is, is just a solo. Orion is a emotional masterpiece, unsurpassed by anything Opeth have ever done. And repititiveness have always been a vital part of metal, and Orion uses it to reach hights that improvised solos can never dream of.